Skip to main content

Observational Constraints on the Formation and Evolution of Neptune-Class Exoplanets

Space Science Reviews volume 216, Article number: 105 (2020) Cite this article

Abstract

Among exoplanets, the small-size population constitutes the dominant one, with a diversity of properties and compositions ranging from rocky to gas dominated envelope. While a large fraction of them have masses and radii similar to or smaller than Neptune, yet none share common properties in term of orbital period and insulation with our ice giants. These exoplanets belong to multi-planet systems where planets are closely packed within the first tenth of AU and often exposed to strong irradiation from their host star. Their formation process, subsequent evolution, and fate are still debated and trigger new developments of planet formation models. This paper reviews the characteristics and properties of this extended sample of planets with radii between ∼1.6 and 4.0 \(R_{\oplus }\). Even though we still lack real Neptune/Uranus analogues, these exoplanets provide us with key observational constraints that allow the formation of our ice giants to be placed in a more general framework than the sole example of our solar system.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price includes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

References

  • R. Allart, V. Bourrier, C. Lovis, D. Ehrenreich, J.J. Spake, A. Wyttenbach, L. Pino, F. Pepe, D.K. Sing, A. Lecavelier des Etangs, Spectrally resolved helium absorption from the extended atmosphere of a warm Neptune-mass exoplanet. Science 362(6421), 1384–1387 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aat5879

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • D.J. Armstrong, T.A. Lopez, V. Adibekyan, R.A. Booth, E.M. Bryant, K.A. Collins, M. Deleuil, A. Emsenhuber, C.X. Huang, G.W. King, et al., A remnant planetary core in the hot-Neptune desert. Nature 583(7814), 39–42 (2020)

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • S.K. Atreya, M.H. Hofstadter, J.H. In, O. Mousis, K. Reh, M.H. Wong, Deep atmosphere composition, structure, origin, and exploration, with particular focus on critical in situ science at the icy giants. Space Sci. Rev. 216(1), 18 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-020-0640-8

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • S.C.C. Barros, J.M. Almenara, O. Demangeon, M. Tsantaki, A. Santerne, D.J. Armstrong, D. Barrado, D. Brown, M. Deleuil, J. Lillo-Box, H. Osborn, D. Pollacco, L. Abe, P. Andre, P. Bendjoya, I. Boisse, A.S. Bonomo, F. Bouchy, G. Bruno, J.R. Cerda, B. Courcol, R.F. Díaz, G. Hébrard, J. Kirk, J.C. Lachurié, K.W.F. Lam, P. Martinez, J. McCormac, C. Moutou, A. Rajpurohit, J.-P. Rivet, J. Spake, O. Suarez, D. Toublanc, S.R. Walker, Photodynamical mass determination of the multiplanetary system K2-19. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 454(4), 4267–4276 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stv2271

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • C. Baruteau, J.C.B. Papaloizou, Disk-planets interactions and the diversity of period ratios in Kepler’s multi-planetary systems. Astrophys. J. 778, 7 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/778/1/7

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • B. Benneke, I. Wong, C. Piaulet, H.A. Knutson, J. Lothringer, C.V. Morley, I.J.M. Crossfield, P. Gao, T.P. Greene, C. Dressing, D. Dragomir, A.W. Howard, P.R. McCullough, E.M.-R. Kempton, J.J. Fortney, J. Fraine, Water vapor and clouds on the habitable-zone sub-Neptune exoplanet K2-18b. Astrophys. J. Lett. 887(1), 14 (2019). https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ab59dc

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • W. Benz, S. Ida, Y. Alibert, D. Lin, C. Mordasini, Planet population synthesis, in Protostars and Planets VI, ed. by H. Beuther, R.S. Klessen, C.P. Dullemond, T. Henning, 2014, pp. 691–713. https://doi.org/10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816531240-ch030

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • B. Bitsch, M. Lambrechts, A. Johansen, The growth of planets by pebble accretion in evolving protoplanetary discs. Astron. Astrophys. 582, 112 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201526463

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • M. Blanc, K. Mandt, O. Mousis, N. André, S. Charnoz, K. Craft, L. Griton, R. Helled, R. Hueso, L. Lamy, J. Lunine, T. Ronnet, J. Schmidt, K. Soderlund, D. Turtle, P. Vernazza, O. Witasse, Science goals and mission objectives for the future exploration of ice giants systems: a Horizon 2061 perspective. Space Sci. Rev. (2020)

  • A. Boehle, S.P. Quanz, C. Lovis, D. Sègransan, S. Udry, D. Apai, Combining high contrast imaging and radial velocities to constrain the planetary architecture of nearby stars. ArXiv e-prints, arXiv:1907.04334 (2019)

  • I. Boisse, F. Pepe, C. Perrier, D. Queloz, X. Bonfils, F. Bouchy, N.C. Santos, L. Arnold, J.-L. Beuzit, R.F. Díaz, X. Delfosse, A. Eggenberger, D. Ehrenreich, T. Forveille, G. Hébrard, A.-M. Lagrange, C. Lovis, M. Mayor, C. Moutou, D. Naef, A. Santerne, D. Ségransan, J.-P. Sivan, S. Udry, The SOPHIE search for northern extrasolar planets. V. Follow-up of ELODIE candidates: Jupiter-analogs around Sun-like stars. Astron. Astrophys. 545, 55 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201118419

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • S.J. Bolton, J. Lunine, D. Stevenson, J.E.P. Connerney, S. Levin, T.C. Owen, F. Bagenal, D. Gautier, A.P. Ingersoll, G.S. Orton, T. Guillot, W. Hubbard, J. Bloxham, A. Coradini, S.K. Stephens, P. Mokashi, R. Thorne, R. Thorpe, The Juno Mission. Space Sci. Rev. 213(1-4), 5–37 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-017-0429-6

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • V. Bourrier, D. Ehrenreich, A.L. des Etangs, Radiative braking in the extended exosphere of GJ 436 b. Astron. Astrophys. 582, 65 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • V. Bourrier, A. Lecavelier des Etangs, D. Ehrenreich, J. Sanz-Forcada, R. Allart, G.E. Ballester, L.A. Buchhave, O. Cohen, D. Deming, T.M. Evans, A. García Muñoz, G.W. Henry, T. Kataria, P. Lavvas, N. Lewis, M. López-Morales, M. Marley, D.K. Sing, H.R. Wakeford, Hubble PanCET: an extended upper atmosphere of neutral hydrogen around the warm Neptune GJ 3470b. Astron. Astrophys. 620, 147 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201833675

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • M.L. Bryan, H.A. Knutson, E.J. Lee, B.J. Fulton, K. Batygin, H. Ngo, T. Meshkat, An excess of Jupiter analogs in super-Earth systems. Astron. J. 157(2), 52 (2019). https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/aaf57f

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • A. Caldas, J. Leconte, F. Selsis, I. Waldmann, P. Bordé, M. Rocchetto, B. Charnay, Effects of a fully 3d atmospheric structure on exoplanet transmission spectra: retrieval biases due to day–night temperature gradients. Astron. Astrophys. 623, 161 (2019)

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • A.C. Childs, E. Quintana, T. Barclay, J.H. Steffen, Giant planet effects on terrestrial planet formation and system architecture. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 485(1), 541–549 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stz385

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • B. Courcol, F. Bouchy, M. Deleuil, An upper boundary in the mass-metallicity plane of exo-Neptunes. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 461(2), 1841–1849 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stw1049

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • L.A. dos Santos, D. Ehrenreich, V. Bourrier, A. Lecavelier des Etangs, M. López-Morales, D.K. Sing, G. Ballester, L. Ben-Jaffel, L.A. Buchhave, A. García Muñoz, G.W. Henry, T. Kataria, B. Lavie, P. Lavvas, N.K. Lewis, T. Mikal-Evans, J. Sanz-Forcada, H. Wakeford, The Hubble PanCET program: an extensive search for metallic ions in the exosphere of GJ 436 b. Astron. Astrophys. 629, 47 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201935663

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • L.A. dos Santos, D. Ehrenreich, V. Bourrier, N. Astudillo-Defru, X. Bonfils, F. Forget, C. Lovis, F. Pepe, S. Udry, The high-energy environment and atmospheric escape of the mini-Neptune K2-18 b. Astron. Astrophys. 634, 4 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201937327

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • D. Ehrenreich, V. Bourrier, P.J. Wheatley, A. Lecavelier des Etangs, G. Hébrard, S. Udry, X. Bonfils, X. Delfosse, J.-M. Désert, D.K. Sing, A. Vidal-Madjar, A giant comet-like cloud of hydrogen escaping the warm Neptune-mass exoplanet GJ 436b. Nature 522(7557), 459–461 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14501

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • D.C. Fabrycky, J.J. Lissauer, D. Ragozzine, J.F. Rowe, J.H. Steffen, E. Agol, T. Barclay, N. Batalha, W. Borucki, D.R. Ciardi, E.B. Ford, T.N. Gautier, J.C. Geary, M.J. Holman, J.M. Jenkins, J. Li, R.C. Morehead, R.L. Morris, A. Shporer, J.C. Smith, M. Still, J. Van Cleve, Architecture of Kepler’s multi-transiting systems. II. New investigations with twice as many candidates. Astrophys. J. 790(2), 146 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/790/2/146

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • B.J. Fulton, E.A. Petigura, The California-Kepler survey. VII. Precise planet radii leveraging Gaia DR2 reveal the stellar mass dependence of the planet radius gap. Astron. J. 156(6), 264 (2018). https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/aae828

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • B.J. Fulton, E.A. Petigura, A.W. Howard, H. Isaacson, G.W. Marcy, P.A. Cargile, L. Hebb, L.M. Weiss, J.A. Johnson, T.D. Morton, E. Sinukoff, I.J.M. Crossfield, L.A. Hirsch, The California-Kepler survey. III. A gap in the radius distribution of small planets. Astron. J. 154(3), 109 (2017). https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/aa80eb

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • S. Ginzburg, H.E. Schlichting, R. Sari, Core-powered mass-loss and the radius distribution of small exoplanets. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 476(1), 759–765 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/sty290

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • A. Gupta, H.E. Schlichting, Sculpting the valley in the radius distribution of small exoplanets as a by-product of planet formation: the core-powered mass-loss mechanism. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 487(1), 24–33 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stz1230

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • A. Gupta, H.E. Schlichting, Signatures of the core-powered mass-loss mechanism in the exoplanet population: dependence on stellar properties and observational predictions. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. (2020). https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staa315

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • B.M.S. Hansen, N. Murray, Testing in situ assembly with the Kepler planet candidate sample. Astrophys. J. 775, 53 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/775/1/53

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • A. Izidoro, A. Morbidelli, S.N. Raymond, F. Hersant, A. Pierens, Accretion of Uranus and Neptune from inward-migrating planetary embryos blocked by Jupiter and Saturn. Astron. Astrophys. 582, 99 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201425525

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • A. Izidoro, M. Ogihara, S.N. Raymond, A. Morbidelli, A. Pierens, B. Bitsch, C. Cossou, F. Hersant, Breaking the chains: hot super-Earth systems from migration and disruption of compact resonant chains. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 470(2), 1750–1770 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stx1232

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • S. Jin, C. Mordasini, Compositional imprints in density-distance-time: a rocky composition for close-in low-mass exoplanets from the location of the valley of evaporation. Astrophys. J. 853(2), 163 (2018). https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aa9f1e

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • D. Jontof-Hutter, J.F. Rowe, J.J. Lissauer, D.C. Fabrycky, E.B. Ford, The mass of the Mars-sized exoplanet Kepler-138 b from transit timing. Nature 522(7556), 321–323 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14494

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • S.R. Kane, P.A. Dalba, Z. Li, E.P. Horch, L.A. Hirsch, J. Horner, R.A. Wittenmyer, S.B. Howell, M.E. Everett, R.P. Butler, C.G. Tinney, B.D. Carter, D.J. Wright, H.R.A. Jones, J. Bailey, S.J. O’Toole, Detection of planetary and stellar companions to neighboring stars via a combination of radial velocity and direct imaging techniques. Astron. J. 157(6), 252 (2019). https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ab1ddf

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • D.M. Kipping, G. Torres, C. Henze, A. Teachey, H. Isaacson, E. Petigura, G.W. Marcy, L.A. Buchhave, J. Chen, S.T. Bryson, E. Sandford, A transiting Jupiter analog. Astrophys. J. 820(2), 112 (2016). https://doi.org/10.3847/0004-637X/820/2/112

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • T.D. Komacek, A.P. Showman, V. Parmentier, Vertical tracer mixing in hot Jupiter atmospheres. Astrophys. J. 881(2), 152 (2019). https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ab338b

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • M. Lambrechts, A. Johansen, Forming the cores of giant planets from the radial pebble flux in protoplanetary discs. Astron. Astrophys. 572, 107 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201424343

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • M. Lambrechts, E. Lega, R.P. Nelson, A. Crida, A. Morbidelli, Quasi-static contraction during runaway gas accretion onto giant planets. Astron. Astrophys. 630, 82 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201834413

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • H. Lammer, F. Selsis, I. Ribas, E.F. Guinan, S.J. Bauer, W.W. Weiss, Atmospheric loss of exoplanets resulting from stellar X-ray and extreme-ultraviolet heating. Astrophys. J. Lett. 598(2), 121–124 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1086/380815

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • B. Lavie, D. Ehrenreich, V. Bourrier, A. Lecavelier des Etangs, A. Vidal-Madjar, X. Delfosse, A. Gracia Berna, K. Heng, N. Thomas, S. Udry, P.J. Wheatley, The long egress of GJ 436b’s giant exosphere. Astron. Astrophys. 605, 7 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201731340

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • J.J. Lissauer, D. Ragozzine, D.C. Fabrycky, J.H. Steffen, E.B. Ford, J.M. Jenkins, A. Shporer, M.J. Holman, J.F. Rowe, E.V. Quintana, N.M. Batalha, W.J. Borucki, S.T. Bryson, D.A. Caldwell, J.A. Carter, D. Ciardi, E.W. Dunham, J.J. Fortney, T.N. Gautier III, S. Howell, D.G. Koch, D.W. Latham, G.W. Marcy, R.C. Morehead, D. Sasselov, Architecture and dynamics of Kepler’s candidate multiple transiting planet systems. Astrophys. J. Suppl. Ser. 197(1), 8 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1088/0067-0049/197/1/8

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • R.J. MacDonald, N. Madhusudhan, The metal-rich atmosphere of the exo-Neptune HAT-P-26b. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 486(1), 1292–1315 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stz789

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • N. Madhusudhan, M. Agúndez, J.I. Moses, Y. Hu, Exoplanetary atmospheres—chemistry, formation conditions, and habitability. Space Sci. Rev. 205(1-4), 285–348 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-016-0254-3

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • N. Madhusudhan, M.C. Nixon, L. Welbanks, A.A. Piette, R.A. Booth, The interior and atmosphere of the habitable-zone exoplanet K2-18b. Astrophys. J. Lett. 891(1), 7 (2020)

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • K.E. Mandt, O. Mousis, S. Treat, Determining the origin of the building blocks of the Ice Giants based on analogue measurements from comets. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 491(1), 488–494 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stz3061

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • M. Mansfield, J.L. Bean, A. Oklopčić, L. Kreidberg, J.-M. Désert, E.M.-R. Kempton, M.R. Line, J.J. Fortney, G.W. Henry, M. Mallonn, K.B. Stevenson, D. Dragomir, R. Allart, V. Bourrier, Detection of helium in the atmosphere of the exo-Neptune HAT-P-11b. Astrophys. J. Lett. 868(2), 34 (2018). https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/aaf166

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • A. Morbidelli, J.I. Lunine, D.P. O’Brien, S.N. Raymond, K.J. Walsh, Building terrestrial planets. Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 40(1), 251–275 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-earth-042711-105319

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • C.V. Morley, H. Knutson, M. Line, J.J. Fortney, D. Thorngren, M.S. Marley, D. Teal, R. Lupu, Forward and inverse modeling of the emission and transmission spectrum of GJ 436b: investigating metal enrichment, tidal heating, and clouds. Astron. J. 153(2), 86 (2017). https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/153/2/86

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • F. Motalebi, S. Udry, M. Gillon, C. Lovis, D. Ségransan, L.A. Buchhave, B.O. Demory, L. Malavolta, C.D. Dressing, D. Sasselov, K. Rice, D. Charbonneau, A. Collier Cameron, D. Latham, E. Molinari, F. Pepe, L. Affer, A.S. Bonomo, R. Cosentino, X. Dumusque, P. Figueira, A.F.M. Fiorenzano, S. Gettel, A. Harutyunyan, R.D. Haywood, J. Johnson, E. Lopez, M. Lopez-Morales, M. Mayor, G. Micela, A. Mortier, V. Nascimbeni, D. Philips, G. Piotto, D. Pollacco, D. Queloz, A. Sozzetti, A. Vand erburg, C.A. Watson, The HARPS-N Rocky Planet Search. I. HD 219134 b: a transiting rocky planet in a multi-planet system at 6.5 pc from the Sun. Astron. Astrophys. 584, 72 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201526822

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O. Mousis, D.H. Atkinson, T. Cavalié, L.N. Fletcher, M.J. Amato, S. Aslam, F. Ferri, J.-B. Renard, T. Spilker, E. Venkatapathy, P. Wurz, K. Aplin, A. Coustenis, M. Deleuil, M. Dobrijevic, T. Fouchet, T. Guillot, P. Hartogh, T. Hewagama, M.D. Hofstadter, V. Hue, R. Hueso, J.-P. Lebreton, E. Lellouch, J. Moses, G.S. Orton, J.C. Pearl, A. Sánchez-Lavega, A. Simon, O. Venot, J.H. Waite, R.K. Achterberg, S. Atreya, F. Billebaud, M. Blanc, F. Borget, B. Brugger, S. Charnoz, T. Chiavassa, V. Cottini, L. d’Hendecourt, G. Danger, T. Encrenaz, N.J.P. Gorius, L. Jorda, B. Marty, R. Moreno, A. Morse, C. Nixon, K. Reh, T. Ronnet, F.-X. Schmider, S. Sheridan, C. Sotin, P. Vernazza, G.L. Villanueva, Scientific rationale for Uranus and Neptune in situ explorations. Planet. Space Sci. 155, 12–40 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pss.2017.10.005

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • O. Mousis, M. Deleuil, A. Aguichine, E. Marcq, J. Naar, L. Acuña Aguirre, B. Brugger, T. Goncalves, Irradiated ocean planets bridge super-Earth and sub-Neptune populations. arXiv e-prints, arXiv:2002.05243 (2020)

  • S. Nayakshin, Dawes review 7: the tidal downsizing hypothesis of planet formation. Publ. Astron. Soc. Aust. 34, 002 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1017/pasa.2016.55

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • J.P. Ninan, G. Stefansson, S. Mahadevan, C. Bender, P. Robertson, L. Ramsey, R. Terrien, J. Wright, S.A. Diddams, S. Kanodia, et al., Detection of He I 10830 Å absorption during the transit of a warm Neptune around the M-dwarf GJ 3470 with the Habitable-zone Planet Finder. arXiv preprint, arXiv:1910.02070 (2019)

  • M. Ogihara, A. Morbidelli, T. Guillot, A reassessment of the in situ formation of close-in super-Earths. Astron. Astrophys. 578, 36 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201525884

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • C.W. Ormel, H.H. Klahr, The effect of gas drag on the growth of protoplanets. Analytical expressions for the accretion of small bodies in laminar disks. Astron. Astrophys. 520, 43 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201014903

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • J.E. Owen, R. Murray-Clay, Metallicity-dependent signatures in the Kepler planets. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 480(2), 2206–2216 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/sty1943

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • J.E. Owen, Y. Wu, Kepler planets: a tale of evaporation. Astrophys. J. 775(2), 105 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/775/2/105

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • S.-J. Paardekooper, H. Rein, W. Kley, The formation of systems with closely spaced low-mass planets and the application to Kepler-36. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 434, 3018–3029 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stt1224

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • E. Palle, L. Nortmann, N. Casasayas-Barris, M. Lampón, M. López-Puertas, J.A. Caballero, J. Sanz-Forcada, L.M. Lara, E. Nagel, F. Yan, F.J. Alonso-Floriano, P.J. Amado, G. Chen, C. Cifuentes, M. Cortés-Contreras, S. Czesla, K. Molaverdikhani, D. Montes, V.M. Passegger, A. Quirrenbach, A. Reiners, I. Ribas, A. Sánchez-López, A. Schweitzer, M. Stangret, M.R. Zapatero Osorio, M. Zechmeister, A He I upper atmosphere around the warm Neptune GJ 3470 b. Astron. Astrophys. 638, 61 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202037719

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • J.C.B. Papaloizou, Tidal interactions in multi-planet systems. Celest. Mech. Dyn. Astron. 111, 83–103 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10569-011-9344-4

    ADS  MathSciNet  Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • V. Parmentier, A.P. Showman, Y. Lian, 3d mixing in hot Jupiters atmospheres-I. Application to the day/night cold trap in HD 209458b. Astron. Astrophys. 558, 91 (2013)

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • V. Parmentier, M.R. Line, J.L. Bean, M. Mansfield, L. Kreidberg, R. Lupu, C. Visscher, J.-M. Désert, J.J. Fortney, M. Deleuil, et al., From thermal dissociation to condensation in the atmospheres of ultra hot Jupiters: Wasp-121b in context. Astron. Astrophys. 617, 110 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • M.T. Penny, B.S. Gaudi, E. Kerins, N.J. Rattenbury, S. Mao, A.C. Robin, S. Calchi Novati, Predictions of the WFIRST microlensing survey. I. Bound planet detection rates. Astrophys. J. Suppl. Ser. 241(1), 3 (2019). https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4365/aafb69

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • E.A. Petigura, G.W. Marcy, J.N. Winn, L.M. Weiss, B.J. Fulton, A.W. Howard, E. Sinukoff, H. Isaacson, T.D. Morton, J.A. Johnson, The California-Kepler survey. IV. Metal-rich stars host a greater diversity of planets. Astron. J. 155(2), 89 (2018). https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/aaa54c

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • A. Pierens, C. Baruteau, F. Hersant, On the dynamics of resonant super-Earths in disks with turbulence driven by stochastic forcing. Astron. Astrophys. 531, 5 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201116611

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • R. Poleski, J. Skowron, A. Udalski, C. Han, S. Kozłowski, Ł. Wyrzykowski, S. Dong, M.K. Szymański, M. Kubiak, G. Pietrzyński, I. Soszyński, K. Ulaczyk, P. Pietrukowicz, A. Gould, Triple microlens OGLE-2008-BLG-092L: binary stellar system with a circumprimary Uranus-type planet. Astrophys. J. 795(1), 42 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/795/1/42

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • R. Poleski, B.S. Gaudi, A. Udalski, M.K. Szymański, I. Soszyński, P. Pietrukowicz, S. Kozłowski, J. Skowron, Ł. Wyrzykowski, K. Ulaczyk, An ice giant exoplanet interpretation of the anomaly in microlensing event OGLE-2011-BLG-0173. Astron. J. 156(3), 104 (2018). https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/aad45e

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • S.N. Raymond, E. Kokubo, A. Morbidelli, R. Morishima, K.J. Walsh, Terrestrial planet formation at home and abroad, in Protostars and Planets VI, ed. by H. Beuther, R.S. Klessen, C.P. Dullemond, T. Henning, 2014, p. 595

    Google Scholar 

  • L.A. Rogers, Most 1.6 Earth-radius planets are not rocky. Astrophys. J. 801(1), 41 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/801/1/41

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • D. Rowan, S. Meschiari, G. Laughlin, S.S. Vogt, R.P. Butler, J. Burt, S. Wang, B. Holden, R. Hanson, P. Arriagada, S. Keiser, J. Teske, M. Diaz, The Lick-Carnegie Exoplanet Survey: HD 32963—a new Jupiter analog orbiting a Sun-like star. Astrophys. J. 817(2), 104 (2016). https://doi.org/10.3847/0004-637X/817/2/104

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • A. Santerne, L. Malavolta, M.R. Kosiarek, F. Dai, C.D. Dressing, X. Dumusque, N.C. Hara, T.A. Lopez, A. Mortier, A. Vanderburg, V. Adibekyan, D.J. Armstrong, D. Barrado, S.C.C. Barros, D. Bayliss, D. Berardo, I. Boisse, A.S. Bonomo, F. Bouchy, D.J.A. Brown, L.A. Buchhave, R.P. Butler, A. Collier Cameron, R. Cosentino, J.D. Crane, I.J.M. Crossfield, M. Damasso, M.R. Deleuil, E. Delgado Mena, O. Demangeon, R.F. Díaz, J.-F. Donati, P. Figueira, B.J. Fulton, A. Ghedina, A. Harutyunyan, G. Hébrard, L.A. Hirsch, S. Hojjatpanah, A.W. Howard, H. Isaacson, D.W. Latham, J. Lillo-Box, M. López-Morales, C. Lovis, A.F. Martinez Fiorenzano, E. Molinari, O. Mousis, C. Moutou, C. Nava, L.D. Nielsen, H.P. Osborn, E.A. Petigura, D.F. Phillips, D.L. Pollacco, E. Poretti, K. Rice, N.C. Santos, D. Ségransan, S.A. Shectman, E. Sinukoff, S.G. Sousa, A. Sozzetti, J.K. Teske, S. Udry, A. Vigan, S.X. Wang, C.A. Watson, L.M. Weiss, P.J. Wheatley, J.N. Winn, An extremely low-density and temperate giant exoplanet. arXiv e-prints, arXiv:1911.07355 (2019)

  • D.S. Spiegel, A. Burrows, L. Ibgui, I. Hubeny, J.A. Milsom, Models of Neptune-mass exoplanets: emergent fluxes and albedos. Astrophys. J. 709(1), 149–158 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/709/1/149

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • J.H. Steffen, J.A. Hwang, The period ratio distribution of Kepler’s candidate multiplanet systems. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 448(2), 1956–1972 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stv104

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • A. Tsiaras, I.P. Waldmann, G. Tinetti, J. Tennyson, S.N. Yurchenko, Water vapour in the atmosphere of the habitable-zone eight-Earth-mass planet K2-18 b. Nat. Astron. 3, 1086–1091 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-019-0878-9

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • V. Van Eylen, C. Agentoft, M.S. Lundkvist, H. Kjeldsen, J.E. Owen, B.J. Fulton, E. Petigura, I. Snellen, An asteroseismic view of the radius valley: stripped cores, not born rocky. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 479(4), 4786–4795 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/sty1783

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • J. Venturini, R. Helled, The formation of mini-Neptunes. Astrophys. J. 848(2), 95 (2017). https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aa8cd0

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • H.R. Wakeford, D.K. Sing, T. Kataria, D. Deming, N. Nikolov, E.D. Lopez, P. Tremblin, D.S. Amundsen, N.K. Lewis, A.M. Mandell, J.J. Fortney, H. Knutson, B. Benneke, T.M. Evans, HAT-P-26b: a Neptune-mass exoplanet with a well-constrained heavy element abundance. Science 356(6338), 628–631 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aah4668

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • H.R. Wakeford, D.K. Sing, D. Deming, N.K. Lewis, J. Goyal, T.J. Wilson, J. Barstow, T. Kataria, B. Drummond, T.M. Evans, A.L. Carter, N. Nikolov, H.A. Knutson, G.E. Ballester, A.M. Mand ell, The complete transmission spectrum of WASP-39b with a precise water constraint. Astron. J. 155(1), 29 (2018). https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/aa9e4e

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • L.M. Weiss, G.W. Marcy, The mass-radius relation for 65 exoplanets smaller than 4 Earth radii. Astrophys. J. Lett. 783(1), 6 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/783/1/L6

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • L.M. Weiss, G.W. Marcy, J.F. Rowe, A.W. Howard, H. Isaacson, J.J. Fortney, N. Miller, B.-O. Demory, D.A. Fischer, E.R. Adams, A.K. Dupree, S.B. Howell, R. Kolbl, J.A. Johnson, E.P. Horch, M.E. Everett, D.C. Fabrycky, S. Seager, The mass of KOI-94d and a relation for planet radius, mass, and incident flux. Astrophys. J. 768(1), 14 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/768/1/14

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • L. Welbanks, N. Madhusudhan, N.F. Allard, I. Hubeny, F. Spiegelman, T. Leininger, Mass–metallicity trends in transiting exoplanets from atmospheric abundances of H2O, Na, and K. Astrophys. J. Lett. 887(1), 20 (2019)

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • R.A. Wittenmyer, J. Horner, C.G. Tinney, R.P. Butler, H.R.A. Jones, M. Tuomi, G.S. Salter, B.D. Carter, F.E. Koch, S.J. O’Toole, J. Bailey, D. Wright, The Anglo-Australian planet search. XXIII. Two new Jupiter analogs. Astrophys. J. 783(2), 103 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/783/2/103

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • R.A. Wittenmyer, R.P. Butler, C.G. Tinney, J. Horner, B.D. Carter, D.J. Wright, H.R.A. Jones, J. Bailey, S.J. O’Toole, The Anglo-Australian planet search XXIV: the frequency of Jupiter analogs. Astrophys. J. 819(1), 28 (2016). https://doi.org/10.3847/0004-637X/819/1/28

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • I. Wong, B. Benneke, P. Gao, H.A. Knutson, Y. Chachan, G.W. Henry, D. Deming, T. Kataria, G.K.H. Lee, N. Nikolov, D.K. Sing, G.E. Ballester, N.J. Baskin, H.R. Wakeford, M.H. Williamson, Optical to near-infrared transmission spectrum of the warm sub-Saturn HAT-P-12b. Astron. J. 159(5), 234 (2020). https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ab880d

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • L. Zeng, S.B. Jacobsen, D.D. Sasselov, M.I. Petaev, A. Vanderburg, M. Lopez-Morales, J. Perez-Mercader, T.R. Mattsson, G. Li, M.Z. Heising, A.S. Bonomo, M. Damasso, T.A. Berger, H. Cao, A. Levi, R.D. Wordsworth, Growth model interpretation of planet size distribution. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 116(20), 9723–9728 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1812905116

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • X. Zhang, A.P. Showman, Global-mean vertical tracer mixing in planetary atmospheres. I. Theory and fast-rotating planets. Astrophys. J. 866(1), 1 (2018). https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aada85

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • W. Zhu, C. Petrovich, Y. Wu, S. Dong, J. Xie, About 30% of Sun-like stars have Kepler-like planetary systems: a study of their intrinsic architecture. Astrophys. J. 860(2), 101 (2018). https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aac6d5

    ADS  Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille, Technopôle de Marseille-Etoile, Aix-Marseille Université, 38, rue Frédéric Joliot-Curie, 13388, Marseille cedex 13, France

    Magali Deleuil

  2. Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK

    Don Pollacco

  3. IRAP, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 31400, Toulouse, France

    Clément Baruteau & Michel Blanc

  4. German Aerospace Center, Institute of Planetary Research, Berlin, Germany

    Heike Rauer

Authors
  1. Magali Deleuil
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Don Pollacco
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Clément Baruteau
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Heike Rauer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Michel Blanc
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Magali Deleuil.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

In Situ Exploration of the Ice Giants: Science and Technology

Edited by Olivier J. Mousis and David H. Atkinson

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Deleuil, M., Pollacco, D., Baruteau, C. et al. Observational Constraints on the Formation and Evolution of Neptune-Class Exoplanets. Space Sci Rev 216, 105 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-020-00726-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-020-00726-2

Keywords

  • Exoplanetary systems
  • Planetary formation
  • Neptune
  • Uranus